Peace, Violence, Addictive Substances - Is there a deeper message?

It concerns including links to organizations that present the negative aspects of alcohol consumption, as well as other drugs.

At first reaction, this seemed a bit distant from the methodology, targets, and ambiance here at SendThemPeace.

A second reaction, was that the two may not be so far apart after all.

To engage in The Challenge as presented here, clearly requires some degree of self-knowledge. It requires a belief that participating in a universal consciousness to bring Peace to our world, is possible, is worth the time and effort, and in fact, seems to be working.

It is difficult to imagine that such participation could be furthered in an environment of chemical toxicity.

Some will not view "having a drink or two" as chemical toxicity.

If the goal here is the pursuit of Peace, does taking various chemicals into one's body, perhaps with the intention of being a bit more relaxed or sociable, lead to violence?

Not always, fortunately.

But perhaps often enough that unfortunate examples are all too easy to encounter in our lives.

In the first link provided below, Tich Nhat Hanh presents the idea that people drink because they are lonely. There may be other reasons. He mentions that our sense of "deep-seated well-being," our source of happiness, should not come from or be sought in, what we consume.

But is it true that addictive substances are sought because something is just not right inside the person?

That "just not right" may frequently be identifiable in first place, and that the addictive substance then follows as a sought after method of compensating. Many will take argument instantaneously with this suggestion.

So here in our "Somehow related" Category on STP.com we'll accept the following links as useful, in pursuing a sense of where people all over the world are going with this subject of Alcohol-Violence-Peace. Their sources are varied. But in all, pursuing Peace is evidently present, and somehow, addictive substances seem to be either in first view, or brought along as something that seems to get in the way of the larger goal.

I would add: self-awareness, and awareness of others in self. Just because that pursuit may not be self-evident, not easy, does not mean it is not worthwhile, nor should it be abandoned in favor of getting dead drunk just one last time, in hopes of finding one's true self.

PubMed returns 27242 citations when searching for "Alcohol + Violence." Follow the link to see some of these. So clearly, Medical Science puts the two together without any hesitation. Here is one that reports the decrease in violence in the U.S. from 1980 to 2013 (a reduction by more than half). Something to be grateful for, though this is not the place to add: "I'll drink to that!".

And from that article:

"Although many policy-level interventions for violence remain to be tested, there is some evidence for policies that aim to reduce alcohol-related harms. Given the strong association between alcohol use and violence involvement, reductions in alcohol consumption are expected to be associated with reduced levels of multiple forms of violence. Based on systematic reviews, the Community Preventive Services Task Force recommends increasing alcohol prices, limiting days and hours of sale, regulation of alcohol outlet density, upholding liability of establishments for alcohol-related harm committed by customers (dram shop liability), enhanced enforcement of laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors, and screening and brief interventions for problem drinkers."

"Alcohol misuse is associated with approximately 60 distinct forms of disease and injury [1] and it is one of the leading causes of death among individual between 12 and 20 years, mainly due to unintentional injuries, homicide, and suicide [2,3]. Alcohol has been shown to play a causal role in aggressive behavior in animals and humans [4,5]. Worldwide estimations show that among all work disabilities due to drinking, 12% can be ascribed to intentional injuries [6]. The main symptoms of alcoholic intoxication are an impaired sense of balance and coordination, a drop in attention, and slow reaction times. These factors increase the risk of injury, as in road accidents (in the United States, blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) of 0.8%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% have been found to be respectively associated with a 2-, 7-, 10-, and 20-fold increase [7]. But the role of drinking in triggering violent behaviors is difficult to assess because these behaviors occur at times when it is hard to measure them. Despite this measurement difficulty, data on the impact of alcohol on injury is now widely available. According to a report published by the WHO, 3.2% of the World’s deaths every year can be ascribed to alcohol (i.e., 1.8 million deaths), 13.7% of which are due to deliberately inflicted injuries. The emergency room (ER) is a unique place for studying the relationship between drinking and physical injury, because this is where injured people often first come in contact with the treatment system. In the United States, 17% of the yearly ER visits are related to an injury following a violent act [8]. In France, 16.5% to 37.5% of all injuries seen by emergency-room staff are linked to drinking [9,10]."

Have a look. See what your friends think. Tell us what you think.

Does this topic belong to SendThemPeace.com, or, though worthwhile in itself, somehow too distant from our purposes here?

Active - Sobriety, Friendship and Peace : Their Vision: "The Active's vision is a democratic, diverse and peaceful world, where each individual can live up to their full potential. Alcohol and other drugs are recognized as direct hinders of young people's potential and as factors influencing family life, children's rights, social inclusion, youth unemployment, democracy, violence against women and girls, as well as creation of sustainable environments." Their Mission: "Active's work focuses on stimulating the potential of young people through promoting a lifestyle free from alcohol and other drugs and creating free, safe and inclusive environment for young people and children." Their parent organization is IOGT.

And to now add to these ...

And to quote our reader, Susan G. : "The organization I'm referring to is Addiction Resource, which raises awareness of the dangers of alcohol addiction and helps local communities stay sober, and there's also VapingDaily which helps to spread the knowledge about the effects of smoking and vaping.

Do you think it'd be possible for you to include those resources on your page?"

The answer is yes. With pleasure, and in pursuit of Peace through all methods possible. Thank you Susan!